"I fell in love with Chris on our first date'

Paralympian tennis star Louise Hunt tells new how she met her Para-Judo athlete husband and reveals their plans for after the Paris Games

- MATTHEW BARBOUR

On the flight back from the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, Louise Hunt, 33, from Swindon, felt deflated.

The Wimbledon semi-finalist had taken home more than 50 titles in her career, but like London in 2012, she left Rio empty-handed.

Little did she know it wasn't a medal she'd be picking up on this trip but a 6ft 4in Paralympian judo competitor. Chris Skelley, 31, from Hull, was part of the ParalympicsGB team, and he happened to have his eyes fixed on another prize. There were just a couple of things in their way, though - Louise couldn't walk and Chris has limited sight.

Louise, who has spina bifida, has been in a wheelchair since birth and has never been able to walk. Chris, meanwhile, has been living with a condition called oculocutaneous albinism since birth, although he didn't receive an official diagnosis until he was 17. He can only see in black and white, and only objects up to around one metre from his face.

"It's ironic to think I spent so long planning what to wear on our first proper date, not really clocking that he wouldn't really be able to see me," Louise says.

The pair met briefly at a launch dinner before Rio, but she admits to having no idea he had taken a shine to her. "I literally had zero idea about Para-Judo. Our sports are like chalk and cheese, and physically we couldn't have been more different." But the flight home sealed the deal.

"Literally 10 times he walked all the way down the plane to chat to me, saying he needed to stretch his legs. It became a running joke with all my friends on how long it would be until he was back. They said I should give him my number to put him out of his misery, but I seriously wasn't looking for a relationship.

"I'd had four official boyfriends before I met Chris, but I never felt any of them were The One. Two were disabled tennis players, and two were non-disabled non-sporty types from school.